I don't think I'm cool because I listen to rap music. But I do. The last CD that I purchased with my own money- (which is saying something because I download 99% of my music)- was "Kingdom Come" by Jay-Z. Jay-Z is one of my favorite artists, and when asked to do this assignment I thought that this CD would be something that a lot of people would have responded to. (Considering it sold so many copies.)

Some of the things I found within the reviews on this site were:

Like all Jays albums it sometimes take a few listens to grow on you. But this album just didnt catch me at all. I really tried to like this album and I avoided droppin a bad review on this for a few weeks. Just because Jay spit a couple bars about not helpin out in Katrina and a few more about his mother doesn't quit mean his lyrics matured. Jay's best is gone you'll never see it again. If you consider this even close to his best, then this is the first Jay album you ever listened to. The production isn't all that great either. This is Jay's worst album to me and the worst I bought in awhile and I dont buy everybody s***. Save your money and Cop Ghost album more fish. It stomps all over this s***.

and

Although this album is a bit more insightful and less materialistic than his previous work, with the exception of BluePrint which is a classic and in a class of its own, I wasn't so anxious about him coming back or this album in general. He should've retired after Blueprint if he wanted to do it while he was ontop. The Black Album was alot better than the BluePrint2 which was one disc so-so to good and second disc made of 90% filler.
While this album shows a more storytelling, poet side of Jay-Z, it ain't exactly his best work. Actually this falls down at the bottom, right beneath his 1997 Vol 1 album. While his maturity as an artist has improved, his lyrical content has suffered. The first 5 songs are classic Jay-Z and the last two songs are classic hip-hop but the rest of the album in between sound more like demos of MC such&such. In my opinion, he has faltered quite a bit on this album, this is right under BluePrint2; BluePrint2 should've never been two discs let alone be a sequel to a hip-hop classic. Kingdom Come has a few good moments starting with the intro and leaving at Lost One, then coming back with Minority Report and ending altogether with Beach Chair, which could've had a better song title given the point of the song. Beyonce, Usher & Ne-Yo, John Legend and Chrisete could've been more utilized than singing hooks, let alone singing hooks on so-so songs. More thought could've been put into the album to make it a 3, and more could've been covered to make it a 4. But Jay is starting to let his Def Jam position affect him.


I chose these two posts because I think that they show that yes, the customer reviews found on amazon can be at times well-written, and even helpful when deciding whether or not to purchase the item, but they are certainly not journalism. Journalism when pertaining to reviewing a certain CD or movie or play is best left up to professionals.

When we put the ability to critique and formulate opinions to anyone, there is a certain level of doubt that follows it. We listen to what critics have to say not because they are smarter than us, but because we asuume that because they are professional "media critics," they must know something about the field they are critiquing.

What do Ebert & Roeper know that John Smith doesnt? Why do we hold their opinions to such high standards? Because we as buyers know for a fact that they have watched thousands of movies, they know what people look for in movies, and can make us feel as though if they think it is good it must be.

I would say that these reviews are not journalism until someone is being paid to review it. Until then its just a bunch of opinions from a bunch of people who don't know a whole bunch about what the hell they are talking about.